The father of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence has said the recent discovery of three women who went missing ten years ago in the US has given him fresh hope that his daughter will be found.

Speaking at a race organised by charity Missing People, Peter Lawrence said he hoped it would not take as long to find out what had happened to his daughter.

He was attending the Miles For Missing People’s 10km run on Clapham Common, south London, which was started by Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared on holiday in Praia da Luz in Portugal’s Algarve in 2007.

Mr Lawrence’s daughter Claudia has not been seen since failing to turn up for work at the University of York on March 19, 2009.

Mr Lawrence said of the event: “It means a lot for the charity, which means a lot for me. It’s good for raising the profile. I’m walking around with a poster with Claudia’s picture on it.

“It’s good to meet up with other people in the same position as you. Kate and I gave each other a big hug earlier this morning.”

Mr Lawrence said he had been heartened by the recent discovery of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight in Ohio, a decade after they went missing in separate incidents.

“It does give you hope,” he said. “I just hope it doesn’t take that long. It’s difficult, some days are worse than others but we’ve got to keep going for Claudia’s sake.”